Place your feet against a wall if it helps you spread them wider and get a deeper stretch. After stretching to both sides, extend your arms straight in front of you and bend forward. Try to touch your chest to the floor and hold for 30-60 seconds. Straddle stretches work your hamstrings, inner thighs, lower back, and calves. They’re great for gymnasts, dancers, and anyone who wants to do a split.
Think about touching your chest to your legs to help keep your back straight. If you’re standing, keep your feet together and reach down to your toes. Keep your knees straight and put your weight on the balls of your feet. To increase your stretch, bend your arms and try to touch your toes with your elbows. [4] X Expert Source Adam ShutyCertified Strength & Conditioning Specialist Expert Interview. 26 August 2020.
To deepen the stretch, put your palms on the floor in front of your toes and stretch forward as far as possible.
Hold the stretch for 30-60 seconds, then repeat on your other leg.
To deepen the stretch, grab your ankle or toes and pull your leg towards your face (keeping your leg straight). Hamstrings are the muscles on the back of your thigh. Loose, flexible hamstrings are essential for good middle and front splits.
Hold for 30-60 seconds, then switch legs and repeat. Alternatively, stand up (putting one hand on a wall for support) and pull your foot up and back, keeping your back straight and your stomach core firm. Quadriceps are the large muscles on the front of your thigh. Even though they don’t contract in a split, keeping them loose helps prevent injury.
Hold the stretch for 30-60 seconds, then repeat on the other leg. Your adductors are the long muscles on the inside of your thigh that pull your legs in toward your body. Loose adductors are essential!
Keep your hips square and facing straight forward. Support your back knee with a cushion or towel if it’s more comfortable. It doesn’t matter which forward leg you start with, since you’ll practice both ways. Wear socks to help your front foot glide across the floor more easily.
Support most of your weight with your hands to keep extra tension off of your hip and leg muscles. Move your front heel just a few inches or centimeters forward at a time, keeping your hips pointing forward.
As you get lower, allow your back leg to straighten farther behind you. The looser you can keep your muscles during a split, the less likely you are to injure yourself.
It’s OK if you don’t get down to a full split on your first try. Keep stretching and practicing consistently until you can get it comfortably and safely. Once you can lower yourself completely to the ground with your legs at 180 degrees, you’ve accomplished your split!
For extra support, do a middle split over a stack of pillows under your groin. Remove pillows as you get more comfortable until you can split without them. [18] X Research source Focus on breathing deeply and steadily while you stretch. Try to keep all of the muscles in your body as relaxed as possible.
It’s OK if you don’t get it on your first try. Keep stretching daily and practicing until you’re all the way to the ground!
A good warmup improves your overall muscle performance and flexibility, plus it makes a torn muscle less likely.
If you feel sore, take a day off of stretching to let your muscles recover. If you try to push through the pain, you could injure yourself and delay your splits. If you’re able to stretch more than twice a day, go for it!
For example, a friend could push your knees down during a butterfly stretch or pull on your leg during a hamstring stretch. Try starting a competition with your flexibility friend to see who can get into the splits first. A little challenge makes great motivation!
Make sure you’re comfortable in whatever you wear. You’ll be putting in a lot of practice, so it’s important to feel good. Wearing baggy or stretchy clothes will also prevent your pants from ripping once you eventually hit the splits.
Remember, you’ll only slow down your progress more by pushing yourself too hard and straining or tearing a muscle. The splits should feel like a good, deep stretch. If you feel pain, it means you’re stretching beyond your current limits.
